Middleton, Massachusetts climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Middleton's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 48.1 inches of precipitation and 48 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.1°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,222 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMiddleton
- Station IDUSC00194744
- Location42.59°N 71.02°W
- Elevation110 ft (34 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Middleton is 60°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Middleton.
- Jan 35° 16°
- Feb 38° 17°
- Mar 44° 25°
- Apr 56° 35°
- May 67° 45°
- Jun 75° 55°
- Jul 81° 61°
- Aug 80° 59°
- Sep 73° 52°
- Oct 62° 41°
- Nov 50° 31°
- Dec 40° 23°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Middleton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in December (4.79 in), the least in February (3.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 16°F | 25.6°F | 3.49 | 13.4 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 38°F | 17°F | 27.6°F | 3.27 | 13.2 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 25°F | 34.4°F | 4.54 | 9.4 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 35°F | 45.5°F | 4.35 | 1.8 | 12 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 67°F | 45°F | 56.0°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 75°F | 55°F | 64.9°F | 4.25 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 81°F | 61°F | 70.6°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 11 | 6 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 80°F | 59°F | 69.2°F | 3.32 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 52°F | 62.3°F | 3.84 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 41°F | 51.1°F | 4.75 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 31°F | 40.8°F | 4.00 | 1.1 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 40°F | 23°F | 31.4°F | 4.79 | 8.9 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 38°F | 48.3°F | 48.12 | 47.8 | 126 | 16 | 129 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −9°C | −3.6°C | 89 mm | 34 cm |
| February | 3°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 83 mm | 34 cm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.3°C | 115 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.5°C | 110 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 13.3°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.3°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.7°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.8°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 5°C | 10.6°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | 0°C | 4.9°C | 102 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 5°C | −5°C | −0.3°C | 122 mm | 23 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00194744; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
Which months are mildest at Middleton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00194744.
When is the last frost at Middleton?
In Middleton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 29 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 31 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 157 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Middleton in zone 6b in ZIP code 01949, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Massachusetts · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00194744; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get at Middleton?
In a normal year in Middleton, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 129 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 126 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 129a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 18high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 126a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1935) is 102°F, on August 3, 1975; the lowest is −22°F, on January 22, 1984.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 63.11 in; the snowiest season is 1947–48, with 124.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00194744; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00194744. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Middleton?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Middleton, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 70% | 2.7 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 71% | 5.7 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 68% | 2.8 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 66% | 1.5 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Middleton record?
A normal year at Middleton brings 6,554 heating degree days, 22% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 496 cooling degree days, 45% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,473 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,223 | 0 |
| February | 1,047 | 0 |
| March | 949 | 0 |
| April | 588 | 3 |
| May | 296 | 17 |
| June | 84 | 82 |
| July | 13 | 186 |
| August | 18 | 150 |
| September | 134 | 53 |
| October | 435 | 4 |
| November | 726 | 0 |
| December | 1,042 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,554 | 496 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00194744. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Have recent years at Middleton been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 48.5°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.3°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.4°F | +1.1°F | 62.41 | 23.3 |
| 2023 | 50.7°F | +2.4°F | 62.54 | 32.3 |
| 2024 | 50.0°F | +1.7°F | 44.70 | 28.2 |
| 2025 | 48.5°F | +0.3°F | 38.86 | 36.0 |
Over 65 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.8°F per century (+0.21°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00194744; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Middleton's climate compare?
Middleton is warmer than 9 of the 35 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.3°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Middleton is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Middleton share this climate record?
2 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Lynnfield, MA13,230 people · 4 mi S
- Boxford, MA8,334 people · 5 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Middleton's climate
What is the coldest month at Middleton?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow at Middleton?
Yes: 48 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (13.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Middleton?
December, with 4.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Middleton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Middleton in zone 6b in ZIP code 01949, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Middleton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Beverly, MA5 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Reading, MA7 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Lawrence, MA10 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Marblehead, MA10 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made